Assalamu Alaikoum and greetings to those of you who have missed being able to contact theInternational Union of Muslim Women. The purpose of this website is one step towards keeping Muslim Women informed about, aware of and ready to respond to the ongoing challenges faced by Muslimas.As we have seen in the media and in our own neighborhoods, attacks on women in general and Muslim women in particular, have been on the rise. But by uniting together, we have made great things happen. There is a reason why the Prophet (PBUH) admonished his followers (MEN and women) about the respect due to Mothers in particular and women in general. Women ARE the teachers an nurturers of future generations and when society forgets this basic concept, civilization falls.Insha'Allah, this page will help Muslim Women and Ansari come together to educate, enlighten and sometimes entertain each other.

Cancellation of a training exercise that had defenders +protecting" a military facility near Reno, Nevada, from Arab garbed Muslim "Terrorists" from the fictitious country of "Lydia."

Providing letters of explanation and information to schools and employers about the rights of Muslim girls and women to cover Islamically and how to handle cases of harassment.

Getting millions of signatures on petitions that were presented to the United Nations in support of the women of Bosnia who were being raped and terrorized because of religious persecution.

Implemented the campaign that led to the creation of the first U.S. stamp that acknowledged Muslimsin the U.S., the Eid stamp.

Asalaamu alaykom wa rahamatAllahu wa barakatu.

I.U.M.W. P.O. Box 9818 Reno, Nevada 89507

Home of theInternational Union of Muslim Women

Tell Us About Islam in Seven Words

We live in a time of complexity. Our lives consist of lists of chores. Is it time to pick up kids? Can I make it to the store? What will I fix for dinner tonight? How can it be time for Prayer? We forget about taking time for us. We need to take time to reflect. We need to make the complex, simple.

There is a story about Ernest Hemingway. Once, he was sitting in a bar. A fellow drinker made him a bet. “You can’t write a six word story.” Hemingway replied that he’d take that bet. Here is the tale that he wrote;“For Sale, Baby Shoes. Never Worn.”

A short story with lots of meaning. But what about the meaning in our lives. Can a few words tell our story? Islam to the point? Just the basics? But using seven words instead of six?

IUMW invites you to share your faith. Tell us your Islam in seven words. It isn’t as simple as it sounds! Seven little words: No More, No Less. You can use any punctuation you like. Or do without any punctuation at all. Your story should be from the heart. Something that can go on bumper stickers. An short explanation of Islam for seekers. Writing down the Believers relationship with God.

Please take a look at these examples

I was born Christian. Found God. Allah Akbar.

Existed. Found Allah. Received Peace and Love

I’m responsible for my actions.I’m Muslim.

Muslims are not Terrorists. Terrorists are Terrorists.

Born Muslim. Didn’t Know. Now I do.

Bear Witness, There’s No God except God.

Saved but unsure. Kept looking. Became Muslim.

Now it’s your turn to write one. You can make it a family project. Share seven words of faith with friends. Ask people in your Masjid to participate. And send the best ones to us. IUMW would like to post your submissions. Don’t you want to share your insights? You can do dawah with seven words. Maybe you can even open a heart.

Our Website has had many problems recently but InshaAllah, should now be fully functional with the help of YAHOO to take care of whatever took us out. Please check back often to see our newest updates!

Welcome to a new chapter for the International Union of Muslim Women...We are now opening an E store that will be able to provide copies of Sister Aminah Assilmi books, dvds and other material, as well as other items of Islamic interest hopefully made or created by Muslims for Muslims. Profit made from the sale of these items will be used to fund this website and to support the International Union of Muslim Women. Items from outside vendors must be vetted in order to ensure that they are Halal and do NOT violate copyright, patent or trademark laws. That means that the sale of books and videos that do NOT pay royalties to the Authors/copyright holders will be removed or not allowed on this site. (If you are aware of an infringements on this page...please notify us.)

Why is this Important to IUMW? We are Muslims...THAT should be reason enough! But it does not seem to be. People have put up videos of speeches on Youtube and on DVDs and reprinted the books by Aminah Assilmi, many times without her permission, or payment. Yes, she was doing her work FisBilAllah, BUT because she was not being paid, or being underpaid for her work and contributions...she ended up Homeless. Thanks to many or the Muslimas in our Sisters Action Network, IUMW was able to collect enough money to provide Sister Aminah with a home and a place to run the IUMW

In another case, a Brother worked on a video with a local Islamic Organization. A certain percentage was to go to the Brother and the Organization would get the rest. The Brother was asked by one of the Cameramen about the arrangement and was he(the Brother) going to be paid? The Brother said he would get a number of copies of the video that he could sell, and that after the expenses of producing the DVD were recouped, he and the organization would split the profit and that it didn't matter anyway, because, HE was doing it "FisBilAllah!" The Cameraman, a Muslim, said that was very laudable, but Landlords and the Grocery Store do not accept "FisBilAllah" as payment. The Cameraman also explained that it was important to be paid for work for two reasons: Perceived Value of Work and Control over Distribution of Resources.

What are "Perceived Value of Work" and "Control over Distribution of Resources"First, People and Organizations do not seem to value what they get for free. There is a "Perceived Value of Work" that some jobs or people are worth more money for what they do. Football Heroes make more than Teachers...the CEO of a Supermarket Chain makes more that the Owner of a local Halal Store. It seems that if you get paid less, your work is worth less. Therefore, if you work for free...? How many times do Masjids take for granted the work put in by some members of the Jummah? "Oh, Brother Ali is a plumber, he can do it "FisBilAllah! Maybe he will not charge us for parts either." , without considering that Brother Ali is working overtime just to make ends meet and paying for parts means it has to come out of a bill he was trying to pay off. And "Have Sister A'isha get some of the women together to clean up after the IFTAR. We don't want to have to pay overtime to the cleaning service.", without considering that "Sister A'isha and the women" COOKED the Iftar, and still have to Clean up their own kitchens as well as prepare for tomorrow, take care of their children and do it all while FASTING. Few people mind helping out in an emergency or when money is tight, but when people are asked to "Volunteer" when there IS money or there ARE resources available to pay them and there is Not an emergency, they begin to question about just what the money is being used for. Does the Director's Office really need new furniture every 3 or 4 years?

Second, why should somebody else have the ability to decide what to do with the profit of YOUR labor? Who should have "Control over the Distribution of Resources" that you are entitled to? According to Islam, workers should be paid before "the sweat dries from Their brow." Even the Bible says that "the Workman is worthy of his hire." Why than should somebody who produces work that generates profit, not receive the benefit of that labor? Only at the point of payment can somebody decide whether to donate all or some of the resource, or decide to use it for themselves and/or donate it to a cause or entity that THEY feel needs THEIR support more. (Again, "Does the Director's Office really need new furniture every 3 or 4 years?") With copyrights, trademarks and other "intellectual property", these are the property of the holder and their beneficiaries or the people & organizations who were either given or bought/contracted for those rights. It is not for an individual to decide that "they are rich" (the wealth of "THEY" does not matter), "they won't mind if I make 50 copies for the Masjid without permission" (did you ask?) I am desperate for money for ----- and so I will sell these books I printed at that copy place because nobody will notice. (that is called theft in Islam.)

Taking Responsibility for OUR actions...Money and Resources are an Amana, a TRUST from Allah. We are responsible for the decisions we make. If we allow thieves to steal intellectual property rights, we allow THEM to choose what to do with the money. And by the very THEFT...the money is no longer Halal. If we knowingly buy the stolen work, we do not get the benefit from it. A Brother was going through a Convention Bazaar with a well-known Speaker. As they passed by a bookseller...the Speaker pointed out the many copies of his book that were available. As they walked away, he told the Brother that most of the sellers books were unauthorized copies of his and other writers books that had been reprinted without permission or payment of royalties. He was asked why didn't he say anything about it? He said that he did not have the resources to go after every theft...so he had to put his trust in Allah, and the knowledge that sooner or later they would be held to account. On his part, he would not sign the pirated copy and would notify the publishers of their lack of permission and sometimes they would apologize and make a payment. Sometimes they would stop making unauthorized copies, and sometimes they would just ignore his request. He said that he could afford to let it go...but he knew that some of the other authors could have used the money. As a tribute to the legacy of Aminah Assilmi, IUMW chooses NOT to involve this website in things of which there is doubt.

We will SLOWLY be increasing the number of items in our store/gift shop as product becomes available and we can get it put online.